MOOSONEE — After losing their 15-year-old nephew to a drug-related killing, Randy Cota and Betty Sue Crawford couldn't stand by any longer.
The married couple — he a retired OPP sergeant, she a band representative for Attawapiskat First Nation — channelled their grief into action. In 2022, they launched Creegonquin, an Indigenous-owned K9 security and community wellness business based in Moosonee.
Their mission is to stop deadly drugs like fentanyl from reaching remote First Nations communities.
“About three years ago, our nephew was murdered in Moosonee. He was stabbed to death over the drugs that were being brought in,” Cota told TimminsToday.
That tragedy set the couple on a path that now has their drug-sniffing dogs — each trained and certified in Canada and the U.S., and worth $25,000 each — searching places such as planes, post offices and airports for illicit substances in northern First Nations communities like Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, and Fort Albany.
When TimminsToday talked to Cota, he said five communities, from Thunder Bay to Timmins, had contacted them that week about their services.
“We can't stop the drugs, but we can slow it down to where it's manageable,” he said.
Working at the invitation of local First Nations leadership, Creegonquin responds to community requests and follows the direction of chiefs and councils.
“Years ago, maybe you’d hear about a bit of marijuana or someone with cocaine once in a while. But that was rare,” Cota said.
“Now, with these city influences, mostly coming in from the Toronto area, we’re seeing fentanyl come in, and in deadly amounts. We recently seized enough fentanyl in a single bust to kill everyone in Attawapiskat.”
Nishnawbe Aski Police Service’s (NAPS) annual reports show communities in the northeast region — including Peawanuck, Fort Albany, Kashechewan, Attawapiskat, and others — have faced persistent challenges related to drug trafficking, violence, and mental health.
Between April 2022 and March 2023, there were 88 drug offences, 912 assaults, 84 attempted suicides, three murders/attempted murders, 78 impaired operations, 371 mental health-related occurrences, and 165 threats of suicide reported.
Drug seizures during that period included over 9,000 grams of cocaine, nearly 1,800 grams of crack cocaine, over 1,800 grams of and hundreds of grams of fentanyl and methamphetamines.
A major drug network tied to Timmins was dismantled in 2022 after being found deeply entrenched in several James Bay communities. A single March 2022 raid in Attawapaiskat First Nation resulted in a seizure valued at nearly $300,000, including over 12,000 methamphetamine tablets.
From April 2023 to August 2024, the NAPS drug enforcement unit seized nearly 32,600 grams of cocaine, more than 30,000 meth pills, and over 3,000 grams of fentanyl. The cash seized as a result of the intel unit seizures between that same time period was over $740,000.
In that same period, 2023–2024 reports show the region saw 75 drug-related violations, 779 assaults, one murder/attempted murder, 46 impaired operations, and a continued high rate of mental health-related incidents, including 74 attempted suicides and 152 threats.
TimminsToday asked James Bay OPP for Moosonee-related statistics, but has not received the data yet.
To prevent drugs from reaching communities in the Far North, mail is also on Cota’s radar.
Creegonquin has built strong partnerships with Canada Post. If a package triggers a K9 alert, it’s returned unopened to Canada Post, which has the authority to investigate further.
“These councils are putting their foot down, and they're taking responsibility for their own communities, and they're shutting it down. There's only two ways into these communities — except for winter road — and it's by air or by post,” Cota said.
“When we come in, we literally shut down the community. Hospitals start seeing a spike in people seeking Suboxone because there are no drugs in town.”
Suboxone is a prescription medication that helps people manage opioid addiction.
People from the south bringing in drugs “don’t care who dies,” Cota said.
“These people who are out of Toronto area, they’re coming in with their love of money,” he said.
“They just prey on every one of these First Nations communities. They prey on the weak and the vulnerable, and they get them addicted.”
Despite success in reducing the drug flow, Cota said what they do comes at a high cost. Between dog care, travel, accommodation, and the human toll of witnessing suffering up close, it's not easy work.
“My wife and I, it’s our business, yes, but our heart isn't in it for the money. We're in it because we want to stop people from dying,” he said.
Fentanyl, often mixed into drugs like speed, cocaine, or even marijuana, is taking a deadly toll on Northern Ontario’s remote First Nations, Cota said. He noted that overdoses and drug-related suicides have far surpassed, for example, Moosonee’s experiences with COVID-19.
“We never had anybody die in Moosonee from COVID,” he said. “But I can name you 60 people that I buried in the last six years that I know from drugs and suicide.”
The company is also focused on prevention.
Creegonquin brings in retired law enforcement, elders, educators, and physicians to lead school programs that teach students about the dangers of drugs, starting from kindergarten, all the way up to Grade 12.
“The only way we’re going to fix this is with education,” he said. “Because once you're addicted, it's very hard to get out of that circle.”
Cota said the response from communities has been overwhelmingly positive.
“When we do a search on a plane and 50 people get off, there's people cheering, sometimes crying, thanking us. People open their bags freely to us,” he said.
“The tail has been wagging the dog for too long. Now the dog is wagging the tail.”
Cota said one of the biggest differences between Creegonquin’s approach and that of outside law enforcement is the personal connection.
“With the OPP or NAPS, officers fly in, work, and leave. We’re different. We know who’s who. We know whose daughter died, whose cousin is struggling. That’s what makes it real,” he said.
Creegonquin is currently focused on Ontario but is open to supporting any First Nation that asks.
In addition to drug detection and education, the company also offers guided tours and sells tanned wild fur, including polar bear and grizzly hides, mainly to First Nations artisans.
The goal, Cota said, remains the same: healing communities.
“This is an epidemic,” he said. “They thought COVID was bad? COVID doesn’t even touch what fentanyl is doing to our people. And it’s being ignored.”